Slant community chat on DiscoursePro Witty and funny character driven story
Four major characters drive the single player campaign, and they are amazing. Three of which have explosive personalities, bring humor, suspense, sadness, and empathy. The other being Chell, who doesn’t speak but her interactions with the rest of the cast make her all the more mysterious and intere...
Pro Entertaining and well delivered voice acting
Voice acting for Wheatley the robot is done by Stephen Merchant (Extras, The Office UK, Life's Too Short) in humorous fashion. His delivery is well executed on all dialogue. On top of this specific experience, the rest of the voice acting of every other character in the game is performed just...
Pro Challenging puzzles that require creative thinking
The game challenges your brain to use portals, cubes and other mechanics in order to solve simple and complex puzzles in interesting ways. Trying to figure out the best placement of entrance and exit portals in order to gain access to (perceived) inaccessible places takes a lot of thought, especial...
Pro Humorous telling of a dark story
Portal is known for its humor. Even years after it's been out in the world people are still quoting and referencing it in everyday situations.
Pro Requires solving spatial and physics based puzzles using portals
The main mechanic of the game revolves around solving different puzzles using a handheld portal device - a device that can bend space and time to create a wormhole through which you can move.
Con Somewhat short
Portal takes 2-3 hours to complete which means it can be completed in one sitting. This may not be enough game for the money for some people and should be considered before purchasing.
Pro Exceptional narration
Excellently crafted, hilarious writing delivered by a well spoken, charismatic British narrator. Kevan Brighting has become somewhat of a cult success since the game due to its cult like status which just shows how deserving he is due to how well done the narration of the game is done.
Pro A few nods to other games can be seen throughout the game
References to other games including Half-Life 2, Portal & Minecraft can be found throughout the game.
Pro Insightful commentary on state of game design
The game tackles topics such as ludonarrative dissonance, choice in games, narrative limitations, etc while mostly focusing on the relationship between the game and the player in terms of storytelling in a very meaningful, educated and entertaining way.
Genre-Co-Op-Controller Support-
The Stanley Parable is an interactive walking game where the player is narrated as they navigate the game. More a comment on the state of modern gaming than a full fledged game itself. An experience if you will, with fictional story elements and some small parts of interactivity.
Pro Filled with humor
The game often uses gags and jokes that call back to the first time they were told in the game making for a game that points out its own humor through the process of inside jokes to the player. This gives an inclusive feeling to the player, that they are part of the game.
Pro Timeless cartoony art style
The game has a cartoon art style as well as animation that is meticulously detailed without taking shortcuts like reusing frames when a unique one would work better. The game also plays like a cartoon as well, with the same silliness and gags that you would expect from a classic episode of Loony Tu...
Pro Classic pixel graphics still available
For purists or those that would like to see how the original looked, there is a graphical setting to switch to the original graphics.
Pro Humorous story
The premise of the game allows for many humorous situations in where an octopus is trying to hide in a human world. An outlandish story that sees the main character get into many different every day situations that would normally be mundane made pretty hilarious due to the situation at hand.
Pro Good variety to the gameplay
Each situation that the player takes part in is varied in looks and tasks, ranging from making coffee to mowing the lawn, the gameplay stays fresh throughout the whole game thanks to the differences found in each section.
Con Gameplay can be easy
While the outlandish story that surrounds the game is great too often the gameplay itself is on the easier side. So for those that are looking for a challenge may not find it in this game.
Genre-Co-Op-Controller Support-
Octodad: Dadliest Catch is a game about an Octopus disguised as a human and the player is tasked with keeping up this facade. The gameplay consists of controlling the Octopus protagonist with individual keys to control each one of his arms, all while keeping under wraps that he is an Octopus. As the game progresses the tasks one has to perform get increasingly difficult.
Pro Stellar writing and voice acting
While the art design and music come together to create a cohesive world oozing with atmosphere, the near-Pixar quality voice work and writing breath life into the characters in way few other games have managed to achieve.
Pro Challenging
Compared to modern point and click Grim Fandango actually requires the player to pay closer attention to details or even take their own notes. While this may not be everyone's cup of tea, for long time point and click adventure game players it is a refreshing change back to the norm.
Con Some puzzles are obtuse
While the quality of puzzles is generally fantastic, there are a few offenders that may force players to resort to a "hail Mary" strategy of clicking anything and everything in hopes of stumbling on the solution.
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